Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Planning

Charging infrastructure planning refers to the comprehensive and strategic coordination of the layout, deployment, operation, and electrical grid integration for electric vehicle (EV) charging facilities. As new energy vehicles (NEVs) enter a phase of rapid mass adoption, robust and well-planned charging networks are crucial in boosting consumer buying confidence and enhancing the overall green mobility experience. In 2025, six key governmental bodies, including the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration, jointly introduced the "Action Plan for 'Doubling in Three Years' of Electric Vehicle Charging Facility Service Capacity (2025–2027)", outlining clear development milestones and implementation roadmaps for charging infrastructure.

Key Targets

Under the "Doubling in Three Years" Action Plan, 28 million charging points will be installed nationwide by the end of 2027, delivering a total public charging capacity of over 300 million kW. This setup is slated to cater to the charging needs of over 80 million EVs, effectively doubling overall charging service capacity. Preliminary projections indicate that rolling out this blueprint will unlock over RM200,000,000,000 in equipment manufacturing and infrastructure investment.

Spatial Layout and Network Planning

The master plan tackles regional charging disparities head-on, rolling out targeted strategies across urban centres, intercity expressways, and rural areas.

Urban Public Charging Network: To develop an urban ecosystem anchored by DC fast charging, supported by AC slow charging, and augmented by ultra-fast high-power charging, ensuring comprehensive coverage across all parking areas. By the end of 2027, cities nationwide will add 1.6 million DC charging connectors, including 100,000 high-power charging connectors (rated at over 250 kW per nozzle). Directly-administered municipalities, specially designated cities, and provincial capitals will spearhead the rollout of these high-power charging hubs.

Highway Intercity Network: By the end of 2027, 40,000 "ultra-fast and fast combined" charging connectors rated at 60 kW and above will be newly built or retrofitted at highway Rest and Service Areas (RSAs). Barring extreme high-altitude and sub-zero zones, all highway service areas must be fully equipped with EV charging capabilities.

Rural Area Charging Network: At least 14,000 DC charging connectors will be installed across township administrative districts currently lacking public charging facilities. This will ensure blanket public charging coverage across rural communities, safeguarding against surging demand during major festive travel periods like the "Balik Kampung" Spring Festival rush.

Enhancing Residential Charging Access

To eliminate the perennial hurdle of installing charging points in residential estates, the framework mandates: 100% of designated parking bays in newly developed residential properties must either have charging facilities fully installed or be fully pre-fitted with dedicated electrical infrastructure to facilitate seamless meter installation and direct power hook-up. For existing residential estates, charging facilities will be retrofitted based on site conditions in conjunction with brownfield and old housing estate upgrading programmes.

Concurrently, a "unified deployment and managed service" turnkey model will be championed. Under this setup, Charge Point Operators (CPOs) handle unified planning, installation, operation, and maintenance, ensuring residential charging setups are professionally managed and commercially viable. By the end of 2027, 1,000 pilot residential communities under this turnkey model will be rolled out.

Power Grid Modernisation and Integration

The plan stipulates that EV charging load requirements must be fully integrated into power distribution network planning. Grid reinforcement and transformer substation capacity upgrades will focus on city centres, highway RSAs, transport hubs, township nodes, and mature housing estates to rectify bottlenecks like weak sub-stations and insufficient supply headroom. Smart, managed charging technologies will also be widely implemented to bolster grid load resilience amid surging peak-period EV adoption.

On the utility application front, streamlined pilot processes such as "one-stop community pre-approval" will be encouraged. This cuts red tape for homeowners applying for private charger hook-ups while upholding prompt, fuss-free, and cost-effective utility connection standards.

Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) Integration

The roadmap actively expands Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) pilot schemes, targeting the deployment of over 5,000 bi-directional charging and discharging points and delivering over 20 million kWh in reverse power supply by the end of 2027. By leveraging market-driven time-of-use tariff mechanisms, the initiative aims to pilot dynamic V2G response models and pool aggregated EV battery storage to participate directly in power market grid balancing.

Retrofittings and Upgrading of Ageing Infrastructure

The framework mandates the phased upgrading of legacy AC chargers, obsolete units in service for over 8 years, and charging hardware operating below 800V architectures, accelerating the transition to next-generation hardware. Alongside ramping up the supply of high-efficiency, reliable, and premium charging infrastructure, authorities will standardise pricing transparency, enhance national charging monitoring and service oversight platforms, and conduct periodic service quality audits.